“Paramount Pictures is telling theaters that if they don’t show the upcoming DreamWorks-produced [‘How to Train Your Dragon’] on a 3-D screen, then it will withhold from the theater a 2-D version of the movie to play instead, according to four theater industry executives, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.” Disney and Warner Bros. are also pressuring cinemas.
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
London’s Robin Ticciati Is No Gustavo Dudamel
The 26-year-old conductor has “both the earnest demeanor of youth and the distinguished manner of an established maestro. In fact, if any comparisons are to be made, it should be with Simon Rattle, … who discovered Ticciati, then a teenage timpanist and violinist in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.”
Foreign Films A Hit In Hollywood (It’s The Remake Potential)
“American studios, producers and filmmakers are pursuing remakes of several prominent foreign titles — including ‘Let the Right One In,’ ‘Tell No One’ and ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ — even as most domestic distributors steer clear of everything with subtitles.”
Sole Rothschild Foundation Trustee Benefits From Position
“A major beneficiary of the foundation’s efforts over the years” is Harvey S. Shipley Miller, who said his work is “a labor of love.” “The foundation, however, failed to make promised grant payments to arts groups last year. And now the New York State attorney general’s office is undertaking a broader review of the foundation and Mr. Miller’s stewardship even though the grants have since been paid.”
Amazon Tells Publishers They Must Concede On E-Books
“Amazon appears to be responding to the Apple threat by waging a publisher-by-publisher battle, trying to keep as many books as possible out of Apple’s hands, while preserving as much flexibility as it can to set its own prices.” If publishers don’t agree to its terms, Amazon says, it will stop selling their books.
Documentary: People Would Kill, Literally, To Be On TV
“Eighty people who thought they were participating in the shooting of a pilot for a French reality series were willing to deliver potentially lethal electric shocks to a contestant who had incorrectly answered knowledge questions, according to the documentary, ‘The Game of Death,’ airing on French TV on Wednesday night.”
Laureate Pens Poem Inspired By Beckham Injury
“The work is entitled Achilles and mixes references to the ancient battlefield hero with allusions to battles on the football field and to Beckham himself. The cross-over was very apparent to a woman who admits to being a big fan of the game.”
Mantel Makes Orange Longlist (Who Could Have Predicted?)
Nominated for her multi-prize-winning “Wolf Hall,” Hilary Mantel “is joined on the 20-strong list by fellow Booker nominee Sarah Waters, previous Orange Prize winner Andrea Levy, and seven first-time novelists. Now in its 15th year, the Orange Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing.”
Mass. Governor Gives Father’s Jazz Collection To Berklee
“Pat Patrick,” the father of Governor Deval Patrick, “was best known for his 40-year association with band leader and composer Sun Ra, whom he accompanied on overseas tours and collaborated with on albums. Patrick also played with jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.”
In Bid For Survival, Borders Welcomes Local Book Clubs
“Borders quietly unveiled a program late last month that invites book club groups to convene at its cafe spaces instead of in club members’ homes. The step is geared toward helping the money-losing bookstore chain drum up sales and reshape itself into a local gathering place instead of a faceless superstore.”